Workplace Jargon Hurts Employee Morale and Collaboration, Study Finds

alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: You've probably heard it before in a meeting: 'Let's touch base offline to align our bandwidth on this workflow.' Corporate jargon like this is easy to laugh at -- but its negative impact in the office can be serious. According to a new study, using too much jargon in the workplace can hurt employees' ability to process messages, leading them to experience negative feelings and making them feel less confident. In turn, they're less likely to reach out and ask for or share information with their colleagues.

'You need people to be willing to collaborate, share ideas and look for more information if they don't understand something at work,' said Olivia Bullock, Ph.D., an assistant professor of advertising at the University of Florida and co-author of the new study. 'And jargon might actually be impeding that information flow across teams.' Age made a difference, though. Older workers had a harder time processing jargon, but were more likely to intend to ask for more information to clarify the message. Younger employees were less likely to seek and share information when confused by jargon. 'It gives credence to the idea that younger people are more vulnerable to these workplace dynamics,' Bullock said. 'If you're onboarding younger employees, explain everything clearly.' The findings have been published in the International Journal of Business Communication.

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